 Naturally occurring wildfires are seen as beneficial in the long run for boreal forests, and so many areas of the Refuge are classified as limited suppression areas and firs may be allowed to burn unchecked so long as they do not move toward populated areas or Refuge facilities.In any given year there is a high likelihood of several small fires burning within the refuge.In 2009 lightning ignited the Shanta Creek Wildfire, which burned over of Refuge land before it began moving toward populated areas outside of Soldotna and was aggressively fought to keep it from endangering these areas.